Guest Post/Virtual Tour with Giveaway ~ The Sweet Spot by Anneli Lort

We’ve all heard it a million times. Write what you know. Well I know about sports, sports stars, and what goes on behind the scenes at the world’s biggest sporting events. I also know about love, but then again, don’t we all?

When it came to inspiration for The Sweet Spot I didn’t have to look very far. I spent almost two decades working on the men’s professional golf tours in both Europe and the USA. I travelled all over the world hosting press conferences, doing interviews with stars, socializing with the biggest names in golf and learning more about the sport than I ever wanted or needed to.

I have witnessed sheer joy and utter devastation and every emotion in between. I have seen things I will never, ever be able to un-see and know far too much about what goes on inside the walls of the world’s most luxurious hotels suites when the cat’s away!

I live in a very pretty village nestled in the foothills of the South Downs, right on the Surrey and West Sussex border. It is full of an eclectic mix of residents, most of whom congregate in the pub on a Friday night to catch up on news, gossip and have a really good moan about the new ‘townies’ moving into the area. I like to remind them I used to be a ‘townie’. It only took me ten years to be accepted!

When it came to writing my first novel it made complete sense to combine my gorgeous little village with the ins and outs of my day job and that’s how The Sweet Spot was born.

My characters developed over time but are pretty much all loosely based on people I know or have met through work. I have stolen names, used quirky personality traits and foibles of my friends and family, exaggerating them in the process for comedy and depth. The Sweet Spot is full of people I know. Let’s just hope they don’t realise it!

I’ve personally visited all of the glamorous locations in my book and been faithful to them in my writing. It was a challenge to get the right balance of golf to make it credible but not enough to turn my readers off, and I think I achieved this. Above all it is a classic romance and one that, hopefully, leaves my readers continuing to imagine my characters stories long after they have finished the book.

The Sweet Spot is a classic love story with a sexy, modern edge, set in the sleepy West Country village of Appleton Vale, and in the glittering world of professional golf.

Olivia escapes London to overcome memories of heartbreak, and moves to Appleton Vale to ghostwrite the autobiography of Sebastian Bloom, former world number one golfer and global icon. But he doesn’t make things easy for her; Olivia is not ready for a new relationship and fights her feelings for Sebastian.

Their story comes to a head at the most prestigious golf tournament in the world, The Open Championship, where Sebastian’s return to form sets up an explosive clash with his lifelong rival, Troy McLoud.

As the lives of Olivia, Sebastian and the residents of Appleton Vale interweave, passions flare and the stakes rise.

GIVEAWAY

To celebrate the release of her bestselling debut, The Sweet Spot, Anneli is giving away a £20 Amazon gift card to one lucky winner. For your chance to win, enter via the Rafflecopter below.

The contest closes at midnight EST on September 8, 2017, and is open to entrants worldwide.

Anneli Lort lived with a charming cast of characters in her head for a number of years before she found the time to sit down and bring them to life in the Appleton Vale series. Once she put pen to paper her imagination was free to create a character driven world of contemporary romance that is both heartwarming and engaging.

In a public relations career that spanned more than two decades Anneli worked for some of the world’s biggest sporting companies. With this came an access-all-areas pass to some of the greatest sports events on the planet where she saw for herself the tension, drama and emotions that were played out behind the scenes.

While TV audiences around the world watched the sporting excitement unfold, she was there to witness first-hand what really happened before and afterwards – the untold stories the rest of the world never got to see. Using this unique insight into the tangled lives and loves of professional athletes Anneli developed the idea that eventually became The Sweet Spot.

Anneli lives in a village much like her fictional creation – Appleton Vale – that is nestled against the foothills of the South Downs. She spends her days working in brand communications, writing, walking the dog – Hector – and riding her New Forest Pony Henry. The dog shares the house; the horse has his own rather spacious accommodation.

She is currently using her wealth of experience to write the follow-up books to The Sweet Spot.